Will more and more footballers land on OnlyFans?

Could it be the air of Sydney that has awakened in Douglas Costa, former player of Shakhtar Donetsk, Bayern Munich, and Juventus, a particular desire for something new? The Brazilian, who recently arrived in the Australian city to begin a new adventure with Sydney FC, has decided to open an account on OnlyFans, a platform offering adult entertainment services. OnlyFans has a simple and intuitive business model: through a monthly subscription, fans can access exclusive content uploaded by creators, who have their own channel. Although it is primarily known for sharing racy images, OnlyFans does not impose content restrictions, allowing users to find a variety of material, from fitness to videos on skills and goals. Currently, Douglas Costa’s OnlyFans account is free, although the footballer may decide to charge for access in the future. Regarding his initiative on the platform, Costa stated: «I hope this collaboration lasts over time, and that I can make my fans happy with my content.» Douglas Costa’s goal seems to be to share moments from his daily life, with the aim of becoming, step by step, a global ambassador for the company founded by Tim Stokely.

So far, Costa has posted five photos wearing the jerseys of Bayern Munich, LA Galaxy, Grêmio, Juventus, and the Brazilian National Team. He has also uploaded a video showcasing his best skills in the Juventus shirt and another one where he’s working out in the gym. Some users commented asking, «where are your nudes?», while a user named Lilly seems particularly excited about the Brazilian’s arrival on OnlyFans, commenting on every video with flirty emoticons. Despite this, the interactions on his profile remain quite limited. We probably never expected Douglas Costa to open an OnlyFans profile, but at the same time, who else but him should have done it? The Brazilian has solid experience in streaming and gaming: many will remember that during his time at Juventus, he used to bring a gaming laptop on flights for longer trips or engage in streaming sessions with Paquetà, Leclerc, and other well-known sports figures, so his inclination towards an online project has slowly been revealed over the years. The big question that arises is whether Douglas Costa will manage to turn OnlyFans into an important loyalty-building resource, encouraging other world-famous footballers to do the same.

Above all, the decision of the footballer to join such a platform to try to build fan loyalty seems rather ambiguous, especially considering that Instagram has recently introduced broadcast channels, a much more immediate method to interact with followers. The first footballer to launch his broadcast channel was Jules Koundè, with Jk's WORLD, where he shares polls about his personal life and other similar content. Moreover, if the quality of the content proposed by Douglas Costa remains the same as in his first posts, subscribing to his channel would seem rather unjustified. A simple search on TikTok or YouTube would be enough to find the best plays by the footballer. And, if someone were interested, they could simply scroll through his Instagram profile to see a few videos of his gym workouts. Unless someone is such a passionate fan that they want to follow his daily workouts day by day through a subscription to his OnlyFans channel.

Consequently, OnlyFans does not seem to be the most suitable platform to attract a large number of fans. An opposite example is Alisha Lehmann, footballer and wife of Douglas Luiz, who was signed by Juventus this summer and has become the most followed female footballer in the world thanks to her Twitch streams. Cristiano Ronaldo launched his YouTube channel two weeks ago, setting a record of 1 million subscribers in the first hour and a half, even surpassing Mr. Beast For this reason, Costa’s choice may seem like a leap into the void. However, one must acknowledge Douglas Costa’s ego, so confident in himself that he believes his football skills are on par with the soft porn content available on OnlyFans.